At the spot where Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' used to be, a new piece of street art has shown up. It says 'This Looks A Bit Like An Eviction.'
It is not a new thing that art has popped up at a Banksy location after Banksy's piece had been taken away. What is different about this piece is that it is commenting not only on Banksy's art, but the situation with Mr. Covington, a squatter who might have been made completely homeless when his home, the 'Elephant', was removed after Banksy tagged it.
The 'Eviction' piece is about 4 x 2.
This new piece is clever in its own right and very well done. On the back it says 'Subtle', which we assume is the artist's name.
In all fairness, we must say that we still believe Banksy is one of the 'good guys'. And even if he did hit this water tank so that it would be removed, we doubt he knew someone was living there. We don't think Banksy is in the habit of making folks homeless. We are sure a lot of thought goes into the placement of Banksy's pieces, but perhaps this situation will provide a new angle on the effect the art might have.
This piece was tracked down by Banksy Hunter Keith Toll, who remains on the hunt! Big thanks to Keith for the tip and pictures.
Lovely piece
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Banksy asked Mr. Covington for permission before he did the elephant, Covington said so in an interview. I'm not sure where this leaves his intentions, but I don't he intended to have him evicted. If anything maybe the point was to draw attention to the subject of homelessness which this new artist "Subtle" has so gracefully done. www.banksyelephant.com
ReplyDelete^^Great website...I like this piece by subtle. Interesting fact emerging over this story...
ReplyDeleteGood one! Should last a couple hours before it's swiped and put on ebay.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a friend, it was stolen in 15 minutes or less.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever stopped to consider the fact that "Mr. Covington" was homeless BEFORE the tank was moved? As far as I can tell, he is in no worse of a position now than he was three weeks ago. Whats the difference between a water tank and a box or under a bridge? Either way you're going to get a good night sleep after you pound a gallon of cheap vodka all day long... Cool piece by the way Subtle.
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